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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23143669">Circulation</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBasilRathbone/pseuds/TheBasilRathbone'>TheBasilRathbone</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Pacemaker [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Broadchurch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alec and Ellie Are Already Dating, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Bullying, Daisy Meets Ellie, Emotional Support, F/M, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, pre-established</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 09:49:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,072</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23143669</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBasilRathbone/pseuds/TheBasilRathbone</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After dating for a while, Ellie further cements her place in Alec's life when his daughter calls for her help in a crisis.</p><p>-</p><p>When she finds out that the pictures, her embarrassing, intimate photos, have been stolen and circulated around school, Daisy doesn’t know what to do. She certainly can't talk to her mum, and her dad is never home. </p><p>She calls Ellie.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alec Hardy &amp; Daisy Hardy, Alec Hardy/Ellie Miller, Daisy Hardy &amp; Ellie Miller</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Pacemaker [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1652722</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>189</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Circulation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">When she finds out that the pictures, her embarrassing, intimate photos, have been sent around school, Daisy doesn’t know what to do.</p><p class="p1">The moment her mum finds out, she breaks down. She screams at her, pacing the floorboards, yelling hysterically about how Daisy could be so <em>reckless </em>to take those pictures, for leaving her phone unlocked where anyone could access it knowing what was on there.</p><p class="p1">Daisy locks herself in her bedroom, trembling, until her mother’s tantrum has stopped and the house goes quiet.</p><p class="p1">She calls Ellie.</p><p class="p1">She’s only met her dad’s girlfriend a few times, now. Once by accident, when she runs into them on her way home from school. She’d assumed, at first, that this unknown woman was a fellow detective. She looked the part, at any rate. They were stopped in front of the train station, looking unassuming and familiar. Her dad’s back was to Daisy, but she’d recognize him anywhere. She had been about to cross the street to say hello when the woman reached up to brush his hair from his forehead. She had smiled and gone up on her toes, and one of her dad’s arms had slipped around her waist. They don’t stick their tongues down one another’s throats, or anything, but it’s a slow, lingering kiss. The woman finally pulled away and walked into the train station, looking over her shoulder at him the whole way in. Her dad watched her go, hands in his pockets. It was only when he turned around and caught her gaze that Daisy realized she had been frozen on the pavement, staring at him, slack-jawed and wide-eyed. It was the first time she’d ever seen him look sheepish.</p><p class="p1">The second time, he’d had them both over for dinner for a proper meeting, probably feeling guilty for her having to find out by catching them out together instead of telling her himself. She wasn’t sure what to expect, and the thought of another woman in her life like her mother is enough to make her hesitant, but Ellie seemed nice. Warm, easily affectionate. Her dad and Ellie bickered constantly throughout dinner, and she threw endless barbs at him the whole way through, but they weren’t venomous and biting like her mum’s insults. They didn’t make her dad shift uncomfortably and avoid her gaze. Ellie had grinned as she said them, and her dad rolled his eyes and huffed and pretended he wasn’t pleased all while slouched comfortably in his chair, legs stretched out and his arm laying casually out in front of her. Ellie offered to do the washing up, and Daisy watched as she unthinkingly placed her palm on the back of his neck and stroked his hair as she passed behind his chair to gather the plates. They took up one another’s space like it’s theirs to share, not flitting cautiously around one another like her parents did when they lived together, two grenades afraid to set the other off.</p><p class="p1">What she liked most about Ellie was that she didn’t try so hard. She treated Daisy like they’re all adults, sitting around a table together, not like she’s meeting The Kid of her boyfriend.</p><p class="p1">They all crowded into the tiny kitchen, and Ellie washed, Daisy dried, and her dad put everything away.</p><p class="p1">Her dad offered to walk Ellie out to her car, and Daisy knew it was just an excuse to be alone. She peeked out the window, watching Ellie lean back against the door of the vehicle, her feet planted between her dad’s. They were talking, her dad’s hands on his hips and Ellie’s on his waist. She pulled him in for a kiss, wrapping her arms around him. Ellie kissed him once, twice, then went to open her door before he caught her hand and dragged her back in one last time, like he couldn't let her go. Daisy watched as her dad reluctantly took a couple of steps back, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans and watching as her car drove off before slowly making his way back into the house. He missed her already, Daisy could tell.</p><p class="p1">When Ellie answers the phone, her voice is bright. “Hi, Love. Y’alright?”</p><p class="p1">Ellie doesn’t even know her, not really, and she already calls her ‘love.’ It makes Daisy burst into tears.</p><p class="p1">“Something happened at school, and…and my mum flipped out and my dad’s never home and I just…I’m sorry for calling, Ellie, I just don’t have anyone else to talk to.”</p><p class="p1">Ellie tells her she’ll be there in an hour.</p><p class="p1">Sure enough, when Daisy lets herself into her dad’s little cottage, Ellie arrives soon afterwards, and she’s brought a carton of milk for tea since her dad’s fridge is always out.</p><p class="p1">Daisy stutters through the events of the last week, tells Ellie about all about the boys finding the nude photos on her phone, about how they’d gone around the school in a matter of hours. The muttered ‘slag’s and rude gestures as she walks down the hall. She talks about shame and the humiliation and her desire to just <em>disappear. </em>Ellie just squeezes her hands, barely refraining from crying herself, and just says ‘my poor girl’ before pulling her into her arms. Daisy collapses in on herself, crying in a way that she hasn’t since she was a little kid. She can’t seem to stop. Ellie rocks her back and forth, holding her so tightly Daisy wonders if it will bruise. It’s exactly what she needs.</p><p class="p1">“You listen to me, Daisy Hardy,” Ellie says finally when Daisy’s hysterics have calmed. “What your mother said…now, she was horrified about what happened to you, and it all came out the wrong way. She handled it poorly and I am so, so sorry she said those things to you in anger. She wasn’t angry at you, she was angry for you. But it was still <em>wrong, </em>do you understand me?”</p><p class="p1">Daisy nods, sniffling and wiping her nose with the sleeve of her jumper. Ellie grabs the top of her arms firmly, forcing Daisy to meet her gaze. “You’re not listening to me. Daisy, this is <em>not </em>your fault. What those boys did to you was sick, and perverted. You are a victim, here. Your privacy was grossly invaded, your trust was abused. It was <em>not </em>your fault, and I’ll not hear anyone say otherwise, not even you. Do. You. Understand. Me?”</p><p class="p1">She bursts into tears again.</p><p class="p1">Ellie pulls her into her arms, holding her close. "You're going to get through this, Daisy. I promise you. I promise you. Just one day at a time. You know that, don't you?"</p><p class="p1">Daisy nods.</p><p class="p1">“Good girl,” Ellie soothes, drawing her close again, and Daisy realizes that she couldn’t remember the last time that any adult in her life had praised her like this.</p><p class="p1">“You won’t tell dad about this, right Ellie?”</p><p class="p1">She sighs. “Daisy...I think you’re the one that needs to tell him.”</p><p class="p1">“I can’t,” she cries. “I can’t, Ellie, he’ll hate me.”</p><p class="p1">“Your father,” Ellie says sternly. “Loves you more than anything else in the world, Daisy. I know it doesn’t always feel like it, but he would do anything for you. There is not a single thing you could ever do that could make him hate you, or look at you any different. And I think you need his support right now, not one more person to hide from. I’ll stay right here and hold your hand while you tell him, if you want.”</p><p class="p1">Daisy feels the tears come again, and she buries her face into Ellie’s shoulder. “Okay.”</p><p class="p1">“Okay.” Ellie’s arms come around her, and Daisy feels the warm pressure of Ellie’s cheek on the top of her head. “Oh, Daisy. Just breaks my heart that you don’t see just how very much you’re <em>loved.”</em></p><p class="p1">When the front door opens, Daisy is still on the sofa, her head resting on Ellie’s shoulder, Ellie’s arm snug around her. They’re both red-eyed and sniffling, and the sickening look of fear on her dad’s face made her feel as though she was going to cry all over again.</p><p class="p1">“C’mon, Love,” Ellie encourages Daisy, shuffling them over so she could sit between her and her dad on the couch. As Daisy confessed, Ellie’s hand stays on her shoulder, squeezing gently when she choked on her words, unwavering in her support. Her dad’s arm stretches over the back of the couch as she spoke, expressionless. He only speaks to prompt her forward, beg her to put her out of his misery and just tell him what was going on. The revelation, however, brings its own bout of misery.</p><p class="p1">“Oh, Dais,” her dad moans, visibly shrinking in pain. “Oh, no no no no…” Ellie gives her an encouraging nudge forward, and for the first time in as long as she can remember, she’s gathered into her father’s arms and held there. Ellie’s hand rubs soothing circles into her back, and through her tears she could see her dad clutching onto the other, their fingers entwined so tightly they’re edged in white, as if he’s holding onto Ellie for dear life.</p><p class="p1">“I’m so sorry, Dad,” she sobs, waiting for the lecture, the explosion of fury. But he only wiped away her tears with his fingertips, gentle enough to startle her.</p><p class="p1">“You don’ have <em>anything </em>to apologize t’ me for, you hear me? Oh, Dais.”</p><p class="p1">He wraps an arm around her shoulder and rests his cheek on the top of her head. Daisy feels the sofa dip as Ellie rises.</p><p class="p1">“I’ll just go make some more tea for us, shall I?” she says quietly, stopping in front of them to smooth down Daisy’s hair and press a kiss to her dad’s forehead. Daisy watches as his hand snakes out to grasp at the back of her leg, holding her there for a moment longer before releasing her. “My poor Hardys,” Ellie murmurs sweetly, giving the pair of them one last look before quietly retreating into the kitchen.</p><hr/><p class="p1">None of them are hungry after that, but they order a pizza and eat almost none of it, packing it away in the fridge for her dad to most likely never eat. Ellie holds her for a long time when she says goodbye and then squeezes her dad’s hand, lingering even as she walks away so he’s forced to stretch out his arm after her.</p><p class="p1">“You call me any time, Daisy. Never hesitate. I’m always here. I mean it.” </p><p class="p1">Daisy believes her.</p><p class="p1">The Hardys watch from the porch as Ellie climbs into her car for the drive back to Broadchurch, her dad's arm around her shoulder as they watch her go. </p><p class="p1">Ellie texts her every day for two weeks afterwards, checking in and making sure she’s okay, threatening to drive out again to take her to lunch if things get hard. Things don’t really recover with her mother, but they rarely do. Her mum is a tough woman, a cop through and through, but the edge it’s given her makes her just move on rather than apologize and risk her dignity. Ellie also asks after her dad, saying she hasn’t heard too much from him, though he’s not much of a texter.</p><p class="p1"><b><em>busy with a case</em></b>,Daisy had messaged back. <b><em>but hes calling all the time to make sure im okay. hes trying to be home whenever he can. and he found out the boys who sent the photos around </em></b><b></b></p><p class="p1">Ellie responds quickly. <b><em>Did he? What did he do?</em></b></p><p class="p1"><b> <em>went right up and told them hed ‘cut their tiny little cocks off’ if they ever talked to me again</em> </b> <b></b></p><p class="p1">Daisy shouldn’t smile at the thought, it could get him in a lot of trouble, but there was something that settled inside her, like some small layer of the horribly painful situation had fallen away at his display of protection.</p><p class="p1"><b> <em>Good man. I know it doesn’t always feel like it, with him always busy with work, but he loves you so much, Daisy. If you only knew how much. He’d do anything for you. </em> </b> <b></b></p><p class="p1">And then, <b><em>And you can always talk to your dad, but I’m always here to talk, too, kid. I mean it. Never too early or late. xx</em></b><b></b></p><p class="p1">Daisy reads and rereads the text, feeling just another small sliver of the ache in her chest fade. She wonders if Ellie knew how much her dad loves her, too.</p><p class="p1">
  <b> <em>I know.</em> </b>
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